Avanti West Coast
Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that began operating the West Coast Partnership franchise on 8 December 2019. It replaced Virgin Trains, which had operated the franchise since 1997. History In November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that the InterCity West Coast franchise would be superseded by the West Coast Partnership (WCP), which would include operating High Speed 2 (HS2) services from 2026."New West Coast rail franchise to run HS2 services". BBC News. 8 November 2016. The DfT required that bidders have experience in high-speed trains and infrastructure, hence all partnered with an existing high-speed operator.Wanted: Superfast mover to partner Virgin and Stagecoach for HS2 The Times 4 March 2017RENFE poised to join Virgin's HS2 franchise bid Railway Gazette International 12 March 2017 In June 2017, the DfT announced that three consortia had been shortlisted to bid for the franchise:West Coast Partnership and South Eastern rail franchise bidders Department for Transport 22 June 2017"Three shortlisted for West Coast Partnership franchise". Railway Gazette International 22 June 2017 *FirstGroup (70%) / Trenitalia (30%) *MTR Corporation (75%) / Guangshen Railway Company (25%) *Stagecoach (50%) / SNCF (30%) / Virgin Group (20%) In December 2018 Renfe Operadora joined the MTR-led bid."RENFE joins MTR's West Coast Partnership bid team". Railway Gazette International 20 December 2018 In April 2019, the Stagecoach-led bid was disqualified after it proposed significant changes to the commercial terms.Stagecoach disqualified from three franchises in pension dispute Railway Gazette 10 April 2019 In August 2019 the DfT awarded the franchise to the First Trenitalia consortium with Avanti West Coast to commence operations on 8 December 2019.FirstGroup and Trenitalia welcome West Coast Partnership Award FirstGroup 14 August 2019"West Coast marks new partnership model for rail" (Press release). Department for Transport. 14 August 2019. Some uncertainty remains as the Competition and Markets Authority launched a merger inquiry into the award of the franchise following a referral from the European Commission. Services Avanti West Coast initially operates the same services as Virgin Trains on the West Coast Main Line. When High Speed 2 opens, it will also operate these services. Over the course of the franchise several timetable changes are expected to be made.West Coast Partnership franchise improvements map Department for Transport 14 August 2019 Routes Extensions The above table shows the regular off-peak service pattern; however, some services are extended beyond their usual destination. Extensions include: *beyond Birmingham New Street: 2 trains per day to calling at (1tpd), , and ; *beyond Chester: 1 train per day to only *across the North Wales line: 7 trains per day to Bangor calling at (5 ), (5 ), , and , with 6 of those extended one stop further to . In addition there were 4 trains per day between London Euston and , calling at Rugby, Stafford (1 ), Crewe (1 ), Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, (1 ) and (1 ). These services operated at irregular intervals throughout the day. Future Services Future services include: *a daily service will be introduced between London Euston and from December 2020, with an additional northbound service from 2022 * an additional service will be introduced to from December 2022 * a direct service will be introduced between London Euston and during the summer months from May 2021 * Subject to approval by the Office of Rail and Road, an additional hourly service will be introduced between London Euston and with a stop at from December 2022 * additional calls will be made at from December 2020 * additional direct journeys at to and from from December 2022 * extension of the daily service from London Euston to to from December 2022 * earlier first trains and later last trains from London Euston to on weekends from December 2022 * earlier first trains and later last trains from London Euston to on weekends by December 2022 * Later last trains from London Euston to on weekdays by December 2020 Rolling stock Avanti West Coast commenced operations with the existing Super Voyager and Pendolino fleets. Both the Super Voyagers and the Pendolinos will be refurbished. Current fleet Future fleet All 20 Super Voyagers will be replaced by thirteen Hitachi bi-mode multiple units and ten Hitachi electric multiple units with the former used for services to , , and North Wales and the latter used for services to , and .First Trenitalia awarded West Coast Partnership Railway Gazette International 14 August 2019 The new Hitachi fleets will be maintained at Alstom's Oxley depot. It was later confirmed that these would be made up of units identical to British Rail Class 800 and British Rail Class 801. The TOPS numbers for this class have not been announced. It will also operate a new fleet on HS2 services from 2026.High Speed 2 rolling stock bids submitted Railway Gazette International 5 June 2019 References External links * Category:Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Category:First Group Category:High Speed 2 Category:Railway companies established in 2019 Category:Train operating companies in the United Kingdom Category:2019 establishments in the United Kingdom